To simplify where we are as a civilization and where we’re going with respect to energy consumption, economics, and environmentalism, it’s useful to postulate three broad “plans”:

Plan A: We continue on our current course. We ignore the fact that our population will soon be growing from 7 billion to 10 billion, and that an ever-growing percentage of that population is joining the ranks of consumers. Our leaders know that we’re in the process of driving off a cliff; they may lack basic decency, but they’re long on intelligence, and they exploit voter ignorance of this core truth as long as they possibly can. During this time, they and the extraordinarily powerful forces that elected them desperately look for new ways of extracting fossil fuels, while obfuscating the effects on global climate, ocean acidification, social chaos, war, respiratory disease, etc. The elite remain in power until the planet is in ruins.

Plan B: We aggressively adopt what Jeremy Rifkin and others refer to as “The Third Industrial Revolution,” which contemplates continued economic growth by focusing on renewable energy and the many other components of sustainability. As Rifkin conceives this, there are “five pillars” at play here: shifting to renewable energy, developing buildings as power plants, deploying hydrogen and other storage technologies, using Internet technology, and transitioning the transport fleet to electric, plug-in and fuel cell vehicles. Not to give anything away, but this concept is embraced by several of the people I interviewed in my second book, due out shortly: “Is Renewable Really Doable?”

Plan C: Although we’d probably love to believe in Plan B, we just don’t see it as a pragmatic reality. We regard the phrase “sustainable growth” as an oxymoron, and find a way to cut back on energy consumption and deal with a period of negative growth, because this is our only choice. By the way, this too is addressed in my next book, and it’s the core belief of Bill McKibben and many other great minds.

My job is to pull this apart, to unravel the issues that underlie each of the three major plans. And now may be a good time to thank you, reader, for being here, and offering your insightful comments as we work this through together.

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The New Year is upon us, and President Obama has delivered his State of the Union address, which offered high-level insight on the energy sector in the US but was reminiscent of messages we’ve already heard. Now it’s time to turn our attention to another really important event of the year: the 2012 Super Bowl. As always, this year’s game will be a staggering display of athleticism and energy consumption (rather than verbiage and applause). These two things, generally not discussed in the same conversation, offer a more nuanced look at the energy sector here in America.

Every year the stats at the Super Bowl pile up like Tom Brady’s passing yards, including the kilowatt-hours (kWh) consumed. The 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas set a record, becoming the most highly viewed television program in American history. Almost 16 million people tuned in, consuming roughly 11.3 million kWh through television sets alone, according to a report by General Electric. That’s enough electricity to power all the homes in three NFL cities – Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Dallas – for 10 hours.

While many fans are focused on the number of touchdowns or turnovers, they’re generally unaware of the statistics they post in their own homes, through their electricity consumption. On a wider scale, this lack of awareness plagues the energy efficient home market, the consequence of forces on both the supply and demand side. Traditionally, consumers’ utility bills have not provided actionable information, making it difficult to interpret their consumption and how to reduce it. Simultaneously, home builders and renovators haven’t been able to articulate a sensible value proposition for energy-efficiency measures.

Appliance designs have made considerable gains in energy efficiency, but these gains are eclipsed by the proliferation of consumer electronics, like LCD televisions and digital video recorders (DVRs). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than 50 million U.S. homes have more than three TVs, and more than 45 million (40 percent) homes have a DVR. The power consumed by appliances and electronics grew from 17 percent of average home energy use in 1978 to 31 percent in 2005, according the EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Advances in energy efficiency have historically mattered less to the American consumer than the newest entertainment device.

There is a chance the American consumer has started to pay attention, however. Major organizations like the NFL have started highlighting residential energy efficiency – like investing in 800 free home energy audits in the Indianapolis area. And according to a recent Yahoo Real Estate poll the American homebuyer’s dream home might be more energy efficient and constructed of sustainable materials.

Currently, there’s little incentive for consumers to tune in to their energy consumption. Engaging the American public through the most popular entertainment forums (e.g. the Super Bowl) and by using devices and outlets they already love (e.g. televisions and social media) may be the ticket to unlocking the energy efficiency potential in the residential sector.

Article by Brittany Gibson, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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These days we are surrounded by gadgets that require an increasing supply of electricity. Therefore finding ways to charge them with as little energy as possible and avoiding energy waste are steps we can take decrease our energy consumption and carbon emissions.

A new range of products designed to eliminate “wasteful stand-by consumption, also known as vampire power”, promises to do just that. They are produced by Bracketron and feature what the company calls GreenZero Technology. Their eco selling point is that they don’t consume energy when left plugged into power outlets, like most chargers do.

The GreenZero chargers detect when the device is fully charged or unplugged, and then automatically shut off. The chargers then consume zero idle power to save energy, while also lengthening the life of the device battery by limiting top-off charging time.

Bracketron’s GreenZero product lineup includes the Mushroom GreenZero and Stone GreenZero wall chargers for mobile devices, and the Stone Battery, a mini portable power supply that is available for both iPhone and microUSB-connected mobile devices.

The GreenZero chargers and battery were unveiled at the International CES 2012 in Las Vegas on January 12 and 13. The line will be available at retailers across the U.S. in March 2012.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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The promise of smarter homes continued to make noise at this year’s CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show. But nothing really wowed me. You might call this an incremental show – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Keep in mind that CES is huge, with 1.86 million net square feet of space used by exhibitors, record crowds (upwards of 153,000 people) and a record number (3,100-plus) of exhibitors showing off their newest gear. Among the products, companies and people I saw, these stood out for various reasons:

Devices

Nest (Nest Labs): It’s hard not to like what Nest Labs has done to the lowly thermostat. The much-publicized Nest device combines the simplicity of an iPod (the company founders, in fact, helped develop Apple’s iPod) with the ability to “learn” how you use energy to heat and cool your home. The device then aims to help consumers reduce energy consumption and thereby lower their costs. Company co-founder Matt Rogers told me the catalyst for Nest was to help people “save a ton” on energy consumption with an easy-to-use device. After launching online last November, Nest Labs quickly ran out of stock. Orders are wait-listed now as manufacturing ramps up.

Belkin’s WeMo Home Control Switch: This Wi-Fi connected switch sits between a wall outlet and small home appliances. You turn it on or off through an app on iOS, Apple’s mobile platform, and the switch can be paired with a motion sensor for more functionality. Availability of these WeMo devices is expected in the summer of 2012. Other related devices – such as garage door openers, door locks, and baby monitors – are expected to join the WeMo family as well.

Retail

AlertMe and Lowes’s: UK-based AlertMe has partnered with home improvement chain Lowe’s to provide a cloud-based home management system. AlertMe will be the platform behind Lowe’s new Iris service for North America, which enables consumers to monitor and control their homes through a smartphone or a computer. The Iris service will launch in mid-2012. AlertMe CEO Mary Turner told me the goal is to provide consumers with not only an intelligent digital dashboard for their homes, but also the ability to put their homes on “cruise control.”

Technology

ZigBee, Z-Wave, HomePlug, UPnP, HomeGrid (G.hn): Many of the leading networking technology groups were present at CES, as expected, each vying for greater traction in the connected home space. While each has something to offer, there isn’t room here to dissect them in detail. Suffice to say, many vendors have interesting products on the market or coming soon based on these technologies, which is very encouraging. But it all makes for a cluttered landscape in consumers’ minds, and that slows the emergence of mainstream solutions.

Throughout the show, I heard people say, essentially, “The technology is available for smarter homes – it just needs to be deployed.” For that to happen, I was told, both utility operators and consumers need more education, which while true, means a slower rate of adoption. Sure sounds incremental to me – and should be expected, given the sluggish economy and the mood of consumers to move cautiously at the outset of trends that involve something as complex as the modern, connected home.

Article by Neil Strother, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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3M is an American multinational conglomerate located in Minnesota. 3M is responsible for over 55,000 different products, including abrasives, adhesives, laminates, dental products, passive fire protection, medical products, electronic materials, car care products, optical films and electronic circuits. With operations in over 60 countries, 3M products are available in over 300 countries. Some of the more popular products include the Post-it note, Scotch Tape, Scotchgard, and Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite. 3M has been very instrumental in the clean technology industry.

1 ) 3M Creates Renewable Energy Division. In 2009, 3M announced the creation of its Renewable Energy Division. Within it, there will be two distinct divisions – energy generation and energy management. Energy generation will work toward the development of materials to be used for geothermal, solar, wind and biofuels solutions, including coatings, tapes, films, and sealants and adhesives. The energy management division maintains focus on thermal efficiencies, energy storage device membranes, and numerous other applications used for residential, commercial building and automotive markets.

2 ) 3M Signs Renewable Energy Research Agreement with NREL. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, part of the United States Department of Energy, announced a number of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with 3M. This collaboration looks to demonstrate both bodies’ commitment to meeting America’s clean energy needs through the development of different technologies that are essential to the production of large-scale sources of new renewable energies at lower costs. The three main areas of innovation include biofuels, thin-film photovoltaics and concentrating solar power. “3M is excited for the opportunity to tap into NREL’s expertise and understanding of a variety of solar modules and the interplay between the materials and systems,” said Mike Roman, general manager and vice president of 3M Renewable Energy Division. “Also, NREL has pilot plant capabilities, which allow valuable application testing of 3M’s biofuel distillation technologies in a controllable and scalable environment.”

3 ) 3M Cool Roofing Granules is a recent 3M innovation that looks to be an energy efficient breakthrough for roofing granule technology. The Cool Roofing Granules keep a home much cooler using less energy consumption, thereby lowering total energy costs. This is because Cool Roofing Granules are up to four times more reflective than any comparative conventional colored granules. Having a cooler roof means having a lower electricity bill due to less energy consumption. The Cool Roofing Granules meet all Energy Star requirements, making them a primary choice for green building.

4 ) The 3P Pollution Policy also known as the “Pollution Prevention Pays Initiative,” was started in 1975. Since its establishment, the 3P initiative has assisted in eliminating more than three billion pounds of pollution and saved 3M more than $1 billion. The policy is “based on the belief that a preventative approach is more effective, technically sound, and economical that conventional pollution controls. Building conventional controls require natural resources, human energy, and money; operating them requires even more.” The 3P initiative is different because it decreases overall resource consumption by preventing the creation of pollution right up front, via product reformulation, equipment redesign, process modification and waste material recycling and reuse. Projects include redesigning adhesive electrodes, preventing solvent emissions coming from the source, and improving environmental footprint.

5 ) Managing Waste. To 3M, minimizing waste is an essential strategy to lowering carbon footprints. At the Irvine, California facility that manufactures dental products, as part of its overall operation, the facility generates platinum catalyst waste. They turn the waste into raw materials via a recycler to recover as well as process waste so it can be reused. This has saved the plant over $100,000. 3M’s German and Japan facilities have eliminated all landfill waste through reuse, recycling, conversion to energy or incinerated.

6 ) Biodiversity. As part of their goal to preserve and enhance biodiversity, 3M has donated over $10 million to The Nature Conservancy to safeguard critical biodiversity and habitat throughout the United States, China, Mexico and Brazil. 3M has also worked alongside with Conservation International to assist in protection endangered wildlife species and restore threatened forests throughout China.

7 ) Climate Change. For 3M, reducing their total carbon dioxide emissions level is very important. Since 2005, 3M has saved over $100 million in energy costs simply by implementing a number of projects that improve energy efficiency. In their Brooking, South Dakota plant, 3M replaced the fume incinerator with a more efficient technology to control pollution, further reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 11,000 tons. 3M has also invested in alternative energy sources. For example, its Austin, Texas facility has 13 percent of its energy coming from the wind.

8 ) Water Stewardship. 3M is always looking for new ways to cut their total water use and prevent water pollution in any way that the company is able to. In the Sumare, Brazil facility, the employees in 2007 implemented a new project to reduce total water use by almost 16 million gallons, saving $200,000 per year by using a process of reverse osmosis to treat and then reuse water. The 3M facility in Bangalore treats all its wastewater on-site, thereby reducing the facility’s utilization of water by 1.5 million gallons per year, also cutting their water bill by almost half.

9 ) Air Emissions. One of the main priorities at 3M is reducing volatile organic air emissions. Since 1990, 3M has been able to reduce the total amount of air emissions by 95 percent. The factory in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, for example, uses coating reformulations and equipment modifications to cut the amount of VOCs and other harmful air emissions by approximately 90 percent. This saves more than 500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

10 ) Packaging. 3M has realized the cost and environmental benefits of reducing the packaging associated with all their products. Through the redesign, reuse, and increased recyclability of their packaging, along with using already recycled materials, 3M is reducing their environmental impact. The results of less packaging include less energy utilized in processing packaging materials, a decrease in the cost and emissions stemming from transportation, and less storage required.

Article by Shawn Lesser, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Atlanta-based Watershed Capital Group – an investment bank assisting sustainable fund and companies raise capital, perform acquisitions, and in other strategic financial decisions. He is also a Co-founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association ”The Global Voice of Cleantech”. He writes for various cleantech publications and is known as the David Letterman of Cleantech for his “Top 10″ series. He can be reached at shawn@watershedcapital.com.

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There was a time when you could spot a greenie in the crowd. They were the Birkenstock-wearing, self-described environmentalists . These days, to rephrase an oft-used saying, “we’ve seen the future and it is us.”

No longer tethered to trees, people who care about the environment are no on-the-go, smartphone in hand. That’s why eco apps for smartphones are becoming the fun, on-demand way for consumers to find the facts about and options for a green lifestyle. Best of all, they are very low cost applications and often free!

It’s no surprise that Earth 17’s Bill Roth called these apps the “revolutionary gun” for consumer sustainability. Since consumers customize which apps they want on their smartphones, they, it can be said, co-create their own unique approach to saving the planet. They own it. Likely then, they will protect and nurture it.

In the supermarket, using apps from startups Goodguide and Barco, consumers can scan barcodes to connect the dots on which products have the fewest negative impacts on the environment – and making choices accordingly. With AUG Living Goods, products can be scanned to determine if they are local or shipped in, consuming energy and increasing the CO-2 level. Eventually, experts anticipate, there will be real-time links on those barcodes to third parties responding live to more detailed green questions. That takes sustainability even beyond iPhone’s innovative Siri. Research shows consumers are balking at all the meaningless-to-them information on packaging. They want to be able to zero in on the data important to them.

With app Green Outlet, consumers discover which appliances are draining the most energy as well as costing the most. With Solar PV Installer they can do those pre-smartphone calculations that were done on the back of an envelope about what it would cost to install solar and how much that would save in energy bills.

Green app developers have found a friend in Tokyo-based Fullcircle Innovations. The Japanese firm has created EcoAppsFree. Through that, users can download green apps and road-test them for 24 hours without cost. After the trial they can decide whether to keep them and pay a fee. The founder of iSleep Space reports that thanks to EcoAppsFree, within 24 hours, 15,000 in about 15 countries accepted the invitation to sample the app.

This is just the start. The statistics are eye-opening. According to Gartner, smartphones will become the highest selling consumer electronic device in the world. Around the world, predicts the IDC, that will total 982 million sold by 2015. That’s about one-seventh the world’s population, penetrating developing economies. That means government, the private sector, and activists can provide green education directly, one-on-one, in emerging economies for little or no cost. There need be no sustainability gap between richer nations and poorer nations.

Given the dog-fight of competition between the iPhone platform from Apple and the Android from Google, it’s in the commercial self-interest of both to develop as many eco apps as possible, fast. The competitive tension exists for Apple to outdo Android on the unexpected.

Already, in terms of just being green companies, all the smartphone producers are pitted against each other. According to Newsweek’s recent Green Rankings, Apple is number two in the green world ranking for smartphones, just behind Nokia and Samsung, which tie for first place. Apple, however, is number one in smartphone market share.

Of course, each individual on Planet Earth must do his or her part. With smartphone in hand, environmental information is available – literally – on-demand.

These apps put the power into your employees hands – allowing them to get smart about sustainability, Now it’s time to focus on your company’s bottom line. And, as they say, there’s an app for that.

Building EKG,™ an energy and water saving application from Noveda Technologies of Branchburg, N.J., is the first in a series of mobile-based applications developed for business enterprises to better manage renewable energy production, energy consumption and water usage in real-time and will initially be available on Apple devices.

The Building EKG application is designed to help businesses access information anywhere and at any time, enabling key decision makers to make on-demand changes across multiple platforms and at multiple facilities, irrespective of location. This application combines the capabilities of Noveda’s suite of monitoring solutions (EnergyFlow Monitor, SunFlow Monitor®, and Carbon Footprint Monitor), giving an
integrated view of all critical energy cost drivers, including electric, gas, steam, and oil, among others.

“With the launch of the Building EKG application, Noveda can deliver actionable intelligence on energy and water use not only instantaneously, but via multiple channels to our customers wherever they are located. This helps our customers to take immediate action to reduce their energy and water consumption and maximize renewable energy production,” said Joe Jacob, chief technology officer at Noveda.

Article by Bari Faye Siegel, a technology writer and marketing consultant at Noveda Technologies, an innovative leader in real-time, web-based energy management, solar PV monitoring and water management. Noveda also offers real-time collaboration tools that leverage social media to educate and empower stakeholder communities and make the smart grid a reality today. For more information, visit www.noveda.com.

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The Chinese government has ordered five cities and two provinces to set caps on greenhouse gas emissions in preparation for a series of regional carbon markets.

Last week, China’s National Development and Reform Commission urged Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen, as well as the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong, to set “overall emissions control targets” and submit strategy proposals on how to achieve them.

A plan developed by Guangdong — which commits the province to achieving 20 percent of its total energy consumption from non-fossil fuels by 2015 — has already been approved by the central government. The province must also cut its “carbon intensity,” or the CO2 emissions per unit of economic growth, by 19.5 percent.

China as a whole, which has already passed the U.S. as the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. According to a new government report, China’s urban population surpassed its rural population for the first time ever in 2011.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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Oded Distel, head of Israel NewTech, believes the international Cleantech industry in 2012 will be guided by the economic environment first and foremost. “The difficult economic climate in the world today, which the Cleantech industry is already feeling, will continue to impact the industry in 2012,” he says. “The focus will shift more and more to efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This will present a challenge to the industry, but also a great opportunity for those companies whose solutions and technologies specifically address the need for efficiency.”

One area in which such solutions are already making headway is in the arena of energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants. Two notable Israeli companies active in this arena are Mapal Green Energy and Diffusaire, both of which developed technologies to significantly reduce energy expenditure in wastewater purification. Mapal Green Energy developed a unique technology of floating aeration units which can save up to 70% in energy consumption and up to 80% in maintenance costs, as well as improve water quality. Mapal is currently installing a pilot system in Lima’s 18 wastewater treatment plants, following an agreement with Peruvian water company SEDAPAL. A more recent entry into this arena is Diffusaire,a promising company that has emerged out of Kinrot Ventures, Israel’s water-tech incubator. Diffusaire’s OTECH aeration technology offers substantial saving in electricity for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operators as well as for aqua-farmers.(To view a video on Diffusaire’s technology click here.)

“In general, this shifting approach to cleantech solutions will require a change in the way that the finance and purchasing managers at water and energy utilities examine suppliers,” continues Distel. Previously, certain parameters like energy expenditure in water processes was accepted at certain levels. Today the trend is to break down and examine the energy expenditure at each stage of the process. “Transparency is key. Utilities will expect suppliers to be much more clear and detailed in how they are minimizing loss of energy and water. This is a challenge, but also an opportunity for those companies which are able to present cost-effective technologies and to communicate them effectively.”

Efficiency will be key in all areas of Cleantech, another example is water management systems and water efficiency. IPNP is an Israeli company which provides management of sewage system maintenance. Distel explains, “If, for example, once sewage pipes were automatically cleaned once every three months, with no further thought, today companies like IPNP are showing that there are more effective ways to manage the system, like measuring pressure in different pipes, giving more attention to those who need it and less to those in which there is less traffic and pressure. This saves pipe bursts and unnecessary maintenance, and overall results in cost savings and a more efficient management of the system.”

“There are many Israeli companies well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities which 2012 will provide,” concludes Distel. “We are recognized for technology innovation and flexibility. The important thing is understand where the market is headed, and to provide effective solutions to the growing needs of the market for cost-effectiveness and transparency.”

Article appearing courtesy Israel NewTech.

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When you think about a “green” building, you probably don’t picture a centuries-old National Historic Landmark that’s lined with columns and made of thousands of tons of granite.

Well, maybe that’s about to change. I'm pleased to announce that the Treasury Building – which dates back to the 19th century and is located right next door to the White House – received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) at a ceremony today in our historic Grant Room.

According to the USGBC, the Treasury Building is believed to be the oldest building in the world to receive LEED certification. The fact that the home of much our nation’s financial history has achieved this distinction for environmental leadership really adds new meaning to the term ‘green’ building.

LEED is a leading international standard for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. The Treasury Building received its LEED Gold certification based on a number of green construction and operation features, including:

•Increasing the use of natural day lighting to reduce energy consumption;
•Establishing sustainable cleaning and landscape programs;
•Developing and implementing advanced control and management of the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems;
•Conducting waste stream audits to benchmark recycling programs and identify opportunities to maximize material conservation;
•Creating a green procurement program for materials, equipment and services purchased
•Increasing occupant space utilization;
•Augmenting alternate transportation means; and
•Establishing enhanced utility metering for improved systems management

These improvements are paying big dividends. Not just for the environment, but also for the Department’s bottom line – because going green saves green for taxpayers. Project results, which are producing an estimated $3.5 million in energy and lease cost savings annually, include:

•A 43 percent decrease in the use of potable water
•A 7 percent decrease in electrical usage
•A 53 percent decrease in the use of steam
•The addition of 164 additional workstations within the building

The fact that we’ve been able to achieve those types of results is particularly significant given the unique historical and architectural features of the Treasury Building.

The Treasury Building is more than two city blocks long and was constructed over a period of 33 years between 1836 and 1869. The east and center wings – which comprise the oldest portion of the structure – were designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument, and were built between 1836 to 1842. It’s the third-oldest federal building in Washington D.C., after the White House and the U.S. Capitol, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1972.

We’re proud of the improvements we’ve made around the Treasury Building – both big and small – to help reduce our environmental footprint and save taxpayer dollars. They’re part of a broader Administration-wide effort, which includes President Obama’s recent $2 billion commitment to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers.

But Treasury’s environmental initiatives represent just a few of the steps we’ve taken to cut waste and improve efficiency.

•We’re continuing to transition to electronic payments for federal beneficiaries and retirees, which will save more than $500 million over the first five years. That also has a significant environmental benefit by converting approximately 135 million paper check payments to electronic payments per year.
•Last week, Vice President Biden and Secretary Geithner announced that the United States Mint is suspending production of surplus Presidential $1 Coins for circulation, which will save at least $50 million annually over the next several years.
•The Department’s work to increase e-filing of tax returns will save more than $100 million over five years.
•A set of projects we’re implementing to consolidate IT services will save an estimated $125 million over five years.
•Earlier this year, Treasury received “green” ratings across-the-board on its energy and sustainability scorecard from the Office of Management and Budget and White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Of course, we’re not satisfied with those initiatives alone. And, moving forward, we’ll continue to work to identify additional ways to save money for taxpayers and improve our Department’s environmental efficiency. (As you might be able to tell, we’re pretty competitive when it comes to our environmental sustainability efforts here at Treasury.)

For now, though, receiving LEED GOLD certification is a certainly welcome achievement and represents the culmination of a lot of hard work by a number of dedicated public servants here at the Department.

At Treasury, green is our favorite color – but we’ll take gold!

Dan Tangherlini is Assistant Secretary for Management, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Performance Officer, and Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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Universities house the future, no one will deny that. Universities house the next generation of thinkers and doers, the ones that will work to make the planet better for the following generations to come. One of the primary universities that is taking clean technology to heart, understanding that its development is key for the future of not just the United States, but the world, is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT as it is more commonly known across the globe. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is a powerhouse when it comes to clean technology. Below are just ten of the highlights associated with MIT and all it has done for the clean technology sector.

1 ) MIT Clean Energy Prize. The MIT Clean Energy Prize is one of the foremost university competitions in the world that provides applicants with the opportunity to demonstrate new and exceptional ways to effectively make clean energy a cost-effective concept that will bring about positive environmental impacts. Its mission statement says thus, “The MIT Clean Energy Prize will catalyze a new generation of clean energy solutions to meet the world’s energy challenge through innovation and entrepreneurship.” Since established in 2008, this innovation and venture creation competition has aided in the startup of a number of energy ventures, including Covalent Solar and Levant Power.

2 ) Sustainable Design. MIT has long been integrating various innovative systems and technologies into renovations of current buildings and creation of new buildings. This has put the university at the very head of sustainable building. MIT created a number of standards and goals to ensure that all new capital projects as well as renovations earn the LEED Silver Plus certification from the US Green Building Council. Two recent projects, the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Building and the Stata Center are LEED registered and are planning for certification. For example, the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Building uses heat recovery techniques that are incorporated into all HVAC systems, thereby reducing energy consumption.

3 ) MIT Finds New Way to turn Heat from the Sun to Electricity. In May of 2011, a number of MIT researchers and collaborators determined a way to create a high performance, and even less expensive way of creating electricity from the heat of the sun. This new system is able to produce power with a level of efficiency that is approximately eight times higher than what has been reported in the past for solar thermoelectric devices. While this new system cannot substitute current solar photovoltaics, it will be another way to tap into solar energy in an inexpensive fashion.

4 ) Creating New Opportunities in Renewable Energy. MIT understands that developing renewable energy sources to provide power to the campus and all campus operations is crucial for their sustainable energy portfolio. MIT has explored a number of practical, viable options for the development of new innovative projects for renewable energy. For instance, departmental collaboration between Health and Safety, the Environmental Programs Office, Environment, Lab for Energy and the Environment, and the Bates Laboratory are looking at the feasibility associated with installing technology for wind turbine power generation at the Middleton, Massachusetts MIT Bates Laboratory.

5 ) Increase in Solar Photovoltaic Power Systems. Just recently, the MIT Community Solar Power Initiative finished the installation of 25 advanced solar photovoltaic systems throughout the campus as well as the surrounding community. The initiative is supported by a grant given by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The three systems on the campus at MIT has led the university to reach a very important milestone – this is the very first large scale renewable power systems that are inter-connected to the power grid at MIT. This project has showcased MITs capabilities in providing renewable energy to the campus in a practical and reliable fashion.

6 ) MIT Receives Recognition for their Energy Programs. In 2011, the energy programs supported by MIT have garnered recognition from two separate organizations. For example, MIT was awarded the 2011 Go Green Award from the City of Cambridge for its numerous campus programs that address climate and energy concerns. As well, the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership named the university a Business Leader for its partnership with NSTAR, a local utility provider, in creating the innovative MIT Efficiency Forward program.

7 ) MIT Energy Initiative. The MIT Energy Initiative, abbreviated as MITEI, was created in 2006. It is a campus-wide initiative that was designed to aid in the transformation of the global energy system into one that can meet future energy needs and improve current energy systems for tomorrow. Susan Hockfield, MIT president, said at her inaugural address in relation to the initiative, “[It is] our institutional responsibility to address the challenges of energy and the environment…Tackling the problems that energy and the environment present will require contributions from all our departments and schools…bringing scientists, engineers, and social scientists together to envision the best energy policies for the future.”

8 ) MIT and NSTAR Partner up for an Energy Efficiency Program. In 2010 MIT and NSTAR partnered together to create the MIT Efficiency Forward project to cut electricity use throughout the university by 15 percent in three years. It will be done through new and innovative programs, engagement by the staff, faculty, and students, as well as creating new approaches and technologies throughout MIT. In this three year time span, the university looks to save 34 million kilowatt hours.
“MIT Efficiency Forward will capitalize on one of MIT’s core strengths: the passion of our faculty, staff and students to tackle the world’s most challenging problems,” said MIT President Susan Hockfield. “Through this exciting new program, right here on the MIT campus, we will pursue one of the major opportunities to reduce energy consumption: finding smart, sensible, economic approaches to energy efficiency. Our participation in the program signals that the solutions for today’s climate and energy challenges will come not only from our research laboratories and classrooms, but also from practice-based management innovations.”

9 ) MIT Enhances their Bio-Based Energy Innovations. Recently, MIT has been hosting a new and innovative algae group at the roof of the Central Utility Plant. The algae being used is actually sequestering a portion of emitted carbon dioxide coming from the emission stream at the power plant. The algae also removes some of the nitrogen oxides, also known for polluting. The algae feeds on the carbon dioxide as well as the other pollutants, producing a type of biomass that may be converted into a number of biofuels, including biodiesel.

10 ) Turning MIT into a Learning Laboratory. A lot of MIT’s operations, including transportation fleets, systems for power generation, programs for recycling, and the building initiatives provide great opportunities to test and study new energy and environmental solutions. For instance, the Education Program of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment and the Environmental Programs Office teamed together to develop the Campus Sustainability UROP program. This program looks to increase educational involvement of all MIT undergraduate in terms of sustainability initiatives throughout the campus.

Article by Shawn Lesser, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Atlanta-based Watershed Capital Group – an investment bank assisting sustainable fund and companies raise capital, perform acquisitions, and in other strategic financial decisions. He is also a Co-founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association ”The Global Voice of Cleantech”. He writes for various cleantech publications and is known as the David Letterman of Cleantech for his “Top 10″ series. He can be reached at shawn@watershedcapital.com

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